| Newbuildings | |
| Irish: Baile Nua | |
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Newbuildings
Newbuildings shown within Northern Ireland |
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| Population | 4,496 (2001) |
|---|---|
| Irish grid reference | C412124 |
| - Belfast | 74 miles |
| District | Derry |
| County | County Londonderry |
| Country | Northern Ireland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | LONDONDERRY |
| Postcode district | BT47 |
| Dialling code | 028, +44 28 |
| EU Parliament | Northern Ireland |
| UK Parliament | Foyle |
| NI Assembly | Foyle |
| List of places: UK • Northern Ireland • County Londonderry | |
Newbuildings or New Buildings is a large village in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It lies about 1 km (0.6 mi) from the banks of the River Foyle and 5 km (3 mi) south of the city of Derry. It had a population of 4,496 people in the 2001 Census.
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The village was founded in the early 17th century as part of the Plantation of Ulster on land allocated to the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths of London.
It remained a small settlement until the 1960s, when large amounts of social housing was built on adjoining townlands. Today, the village consists of four churches (Methodist, Independent Methodist, Church of Ireland and Roman Catholic). It also has two primary schools - one Protestant, one Catholic, post office,community association, retail units and a wide range of housing.
Newbuildings sits on an area of flat land between Clondermot Hill to the east and the River Foyle to the west.
It is within the parish of Clondermot. Like the rest of Ireland, this parish is split into a number of townlands, whose names are derived from the Irish language. Over time, the urban area of Newbuildings has spread into the following townlands:[1]
Between 1900 and 1955 the County Donegal Railways Joint Committee had a station in Newbuildings, the line running along the east bank of the River Foyle. Newbuildings railway station opened on 6 August 1900 and finally closed on 1 January 1955.[2]
Newbuildings is classified by the NI Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) as being within Derry Urban Area (DUA). On Census day (29 April 2001) there were 4,496 people living in Newbuildings. Of these:
For more details see: NI Neighbourhood Information Service
Of 582 wards in Northern Ireland, 'New Buildings' was ranked as the 259th most deprived.[3]
In 2005, Irish nationalist newspaper The Irish News printed a story about Newbuildings, with the headline "the most sectarian place in the north?". This was due to the many attacks on the Catholic church, the cars of mass-goers. This prompted an angry response from the community, some of whom made the journey to Belfast to meet the newspaper's editor.[4]